


(No Need to) Save Me

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: Smallville, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 03:18:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6937498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lana Lang runs a coffee shop in National City.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(No Need to) Save Me

Lana had lived in National City for ten years when Supergirl first appeared. She had gotten the hell out of Smallville on the first full scholarship that wasn’t to a Metropolis university. That landed her at a small liberal arts college in Opal City, Maryland, which was a great place to double major in business and English literature. However, it was not where Lana wanted to spend the rest of her life. When it came down to it, she could only envision herself living in Gotham or National City and eventually chose the latter because there weren’t any caped crusaders. She had had enough superheroes in her life. Lana never looked back.

It took a few years, but she eventually established a coffeehouse of her very own in a prime location. Being in central downtown, right across the street from Cat Co, meant that business poured in from the moment she first opened her doors. Developing a menu, setting prices, hiring staff, meeting health and safety requirements, and completing dozens of little tasks that never made the to-do list, all while maintaining a friendly, welcoming environment wasn’t anything new to Lana. She had done it before, albeit on a smaller scale, so the challenge wasn’t overly daunting. More importantly, she completely owned her business outright, which meant she was able to mold it into something that reflected her.

These days Lana woke absurdly early every morning to make it into town before the vast majority of the workforce. She treasured her silent bus commute where everyone was still too blurry eyed to talk to her before the day became oversaturated with people. Depending on the day of the week Lana would run errands, hit the gym, or stay late at the coffeehouse. As her work was her life, Lana cultured a lot of social activities in her coffee shop; including a book club, weekly trivia night, and local groups frequently reserved space for fun events.

Her favorite group, though she’d never admit it, were the kids in the superhero club. It wasn’t so much the subject matter that attracted Lana’s attention, but their attitude. With a muffin in one hand and a new news story in the other they set aside popularity and social status to bask in the glory of heroic endeavors. Their eyes lit up with such delight Lana always felt a slight ache in her chest from not having a similar passion when she was their age. She still didn’t have the closely-knit group of friends they seemed to have, but she felt better about that these days. Even if she was currently alone, Lana wasn’t lonely anymore.

They were the ones who told her about Supergirl. Lana typically went to bed early, so she missed the initial breaking news. Then was so busy fixing an on the fritz espresso machine she hadn’t time for anything else the next morning. Red faced and out of breath, the kids couldn’t get the words out; eventually they shoved their phones in Lana’s face to get the point across. She ended up going out and buying a paper just to clip the article for the coffeehouse wall. Surprising no one but Lana herself, she covered an entire pin board with Supergirl stories and pictures in the following weeks. Her favorite was a picture a little girl had drawn of Supergirl rescuing her iguana from a tree.

Lana’s new hobby amused her and Kara, one of her regulars. Lana didn’t know what her last name was; just that Kara was Cat Grant’s mousy assistant. Once she opened up Kara was quite sweet, generally making Lana laugh, but it took time and effort to reach the real Kara. They always talked while Lana prepared Ms. Grant’s highly specific drink order and she always made a point to check how Kara was doing. She was so painfully meek and unsure of herself most of the time that even Lana could see she was typically treated like a doormat. Since Supergirl had appeared Kara seemed more self-confident. This made Lana like the superhero more than her more famous cousin. While she knew he must inspire people to better themselves, Lana had never personally seen Superman improve people like this.

One day Kara came into the coffeehouse clearly looking worse for wear. Her voice was a near whisper and lacked its usual bounce. She hunched over, resting on the counter, and refused to make eye contact. When Lana eventually glimpsed her face Kara’s eyes were red and had bags under them. To get that look she must have stayed up all night crying. Lana spent enough of her teen years doing just that, so she could spot the signs from a mile away.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Lana asked, concerned for her favorite customer. “Bad news?”

“I found out that a friend, one of the first I made after coming to this city, likes me,” Kara said. “He… isn’t willing to just be friends anymore.”

“And he’s put you in a love him or leave him situation,” Lana finished, filling in the blanks. “That’s a tough situation. I assume you don’t like him back, otherwise you wouldn’t be upset.”

“No! Winn’s my best friend, I don’t want things to change between us!” Kara shouted, drawing the attention of the other customers in line. She ducked her head in embarrassment and adjusted her glasses.

Lana made an executive decision. It wasn’t the best one business wise, but it was the right one from a humanitarian perspective and Kara was a friend, or at least as close as Lana got to friends these days. She grabbed Kara’s coffees and told the rest of her staff she was taking her fifteen minutes. Then she herded Kara over to a corner table and made her sit. Lana took the seat across from her and sipped the second latte. 

“That’s Ms. Grant’s,” Kara said.

“I’ll make her another one when we’re through,” Lana promised. “In the meantime you need a few minutes to chill. I assume you work with this guy?”

“Yeah. He’s our fun nerdy computer guy. I’ve leaned on him a lot of late and I thought we were cool, but then this confession came out of nowhere. I think he mentioned not wanting to keep it a secret anymore and then kissed me,” Kara glumly explained, staring down at her drink. “I don’t like him like that, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings either.”

Lana rolled her eyes. She knew all about entitled boys and their friend zoning complaints. It had been the worst back in high school, though college was also pretty bad, until she decided to stop giving a shit about what guys thought. That was also when she stopped wearing her meteorite necklace for good. 

“My aunt used to say that life is about change, sometimes it’s painful, sometimes it’s beautiful, but most of the time it’s both,” Lana said. “Nell was pretty full of shit, but this holds true, Kara. About the only thing you can be certain of is that life changes. Sometimes you’re not going to be happy with what happens and it hurts. Don’t you think you’ll regret it more if you let Winn push you into a relationship than if you make it clear you only have platonic feelings for him, even if it costs you the friendship?”

“I just wish something in my life would remain stable for more than two seconds,” Kara sighed. “I‘ve had to make so many new decisions of late I don’t know if I can handle any more.” 

“I get that.” Lana reached out and squeezed Kara’s hand, which made the young woman smile. “Okay, not the same situation, but hear me out. I grew up in a podunk Kansas town and I was popular. I was a cheerleader, dated the star quarterback, and crowned homecoming queen freshman year. I was also miserable because despite all the people around me, I didn’t have a single friend I could trust or count on.”

“I understand that feeling.”

“Up until that point in my life I passively let things happen to me and I hated my life. So, I took control. Quit cheerleading, found a job, and actually forged real friendships. This eventually ended my relationship with Whitney, and then I had this long sexually charged thing with another guy that went on for years longer than it should have, but I was a lot happier.”

“You’ve had guy trouble too? Ever been in a love triangle?”

“My dating history is a tangled web filled with triangles and I have had more stalkers, of varying genders, than I can count on my fingers and toes,” Lana laughed. “It’s why I never give out personal information these days.”

“Wow, you’re making my problem seem kinda insignificant.”

“Oh Kara, your problems are important. I’m just trying to give you a little perspective. The point I was trying to make was that if you make a choice in how things play out you’ll be happier.” Lana shifted in her seat. “I had wanted to get out of my small town all my life, but when Nell decided we were moving to Metropolis so she could marry a man she had known for less than four months I refused. I stayed in my hometown until I was ready to leave, which was right after graduation. If I hadn’t made that choice for myself, I wouldn’t be here running my own business.”

“I’m glad you ended up here,” Kara smiled.

“Me too,” Lana grinned. “I love my life and this never would have happened if I kept letting other people decide everything for me. I have never regretted the decisions I made for myself. Some of them were bad ones, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never regretted them like the ones I didn’t make.”

“So what should I do?”

“Well, I can’t tell you to follow your heart, because that turned out badly every time I tried it, but you need to make your disinterest clear to Winn. Tell him he doesn’t have to be your friend, but he can’t be your boyfriend. If he tries to take reprisals against you, like blackmail—which has also happened to me—take firm, decisive action and cut him out of your life. From what I know of Cat Grant, she won’t put up with that sort of shit in her office,” Lana said, trying to reassure her friend.

“Alex would kill him if he tried anything like that, and she knows how to hide bodies,” Kara said. “She’s the best overprotective sister a girl can have.”

“My BFF’s the same way.”

They clinked their lattes together then Lana drained hers. She made a new pair of drinks for Kara, insisting they were on the house, and sent the PA on her way. Kara seemed a lot happier than she had when she first arrived, so Lana knew her pep talk helped. The next morning Kara arrived looking like her happy usual self. Without prompting she told Lana that she had taken her advice and resolved things with Winn. Apparently, he’d rather be friends with Kara rather than have no relationship whatsoever, which was unsurprising to Lana. Plus, a new girl at the office had caught his eye. After that, things went back to normal in Lana’s life, save for the semi-regular super-powered disasters that naturally befell National City.

One morning on Lana’s day off—she only had one a week, which made them even more special for her—she decided to have her coffee on her apartment balcony. National City had recently lived through a particularly disturbing event: Supergirl acting out of character and turning against the city with destructive results. It had been alarming for Lana as well, but unlike the rest of the population, she had prior experience with Kryptonians behaving uncharacteristically. She would bet anything that red kryptonite had been involved, and understood Supergirl hadn’t meant any of the terrible things she had done last week. More importantly, Lana was confident it wouldn’t happen again because outside of Smallville, red kryptonite was practically nonexistent.

So, when Lana spotted Supergirl flying past her building she didn’t give it a second thought to shout a greeting at her. To her surprise, Supergirl stopped mid flight and drifted over to her balcony. Lana hadn’t heard of Supergirl suspending patrol just to chat before, which was when she realized just how desperate the superhero must be for a friendly face. She’d be upset too if former fans cowered in terror when she flew by.

“You were talking to me?” Supergirl asked, surprisingly hesitant for a superhero.

“Course I was. You don’t see any other Supergirls around, do you?” Lana laughed, before quickly sobering. “For real though, that Bizarro Supergirl was terrifying. I’d much rather run into you than her any day of the week.”

“You’re the first person who hasn’t run screaming from me since I went on that awful rampage,” Supergirl said. “I am so sorry about that. That wasn’t me. I mean, technically, that was me, but that wasn’t who I really am.”

“I know,” Lana replied. “You’re not the first Kryptonian I’ve seen under the influence of red kryptonite. Why don’t you land and have a cup of coffee? I make a mean cup.”

“You know my cousin?” Supergirl asked, alighting upon the railing.

“I didn’t say that.” Lana made a face. “I don’t think anyone truly knows him. He keeps everything bottled up inside, which I guess is understandable, but it certainly made being friends with him in high school difficult.”

“What was he like back then? Are you still friends? You must have been close if he told you his secret.”

“We haven’t talked in years, but if you’ve got the morning, I can tell you all about him,” Lana laughed.

Supergirl settled into the plastic lawn chair Lana kept on her balcony. Lana pulled out one of her dining room chairs and as soon as the fresh pot of coffee was ready she brought it and the batch of pumpkin muffins she made that morning out. Supergirl waited patiently while Lana set things up for her guest, but it was clear from the way she bounced in her seat that she wanted the details.

“When did you first find out about his powers?” Supergirl asked the moment Lana was settled.

“Well, I first suspected there was something different about him the night of our Spring Formal freshman year when I miraculously survived being in a tornado without a scratch. I saw him in that tornado, despite the fact he was supposed to be miles away at the dance when I got hit,” Lana said. “He didn’t actually tell me until years later when I almost married Lex Luthor—don’t ask, I’ve made a lot of romantic mistakes—but by that point I already knew. He was terrible at hiding his powers. However, that mostly went unnoticed because the town was practically half meteorite mutant thanks to the Armageddon that heralded his arrival.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Who knew long term exposure to kryptonite affected human beings as well?” Lana laughed uneasily. “I wore a piece of meteorite around my neck when I was growing up. I’ve wondered a lot since leaving Smallville if I was mutated as well, but as far as I can tell I’m just normal old me.”

“Lana,” Supergirl said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve spent my whole life trying to be normal, to never stand out or be special, and I was miserable. The truth is there is no normal. You’ll be happiest if you just be yourself. Whether or not you’ve got mutations… well, you’ve always seemed pretty cool to me.”

“Thanks Supergirl. Does this mean we’ve met before?”

“Umm… yes? You make the best coffee in National City. Everyone comes to you!”

“I knew it,” Lana cackled. “Take that Starbucks! Supergirl, please stop by my shop in uniform sometime. I’d appreciate the publicity.”

“I’d love to.”

“So, do you want to hear about when he discovered his heat vision?” Lana asked. “I didn’t know about his superpowers at the time, but I was around when it happened and heard the nitty gritties later.”

“Do I ever!” Supergirl laughed.

They spent the rest of the morning on Lana’s balcony. She regaled Supergirl with some of the best adventures she had in high school with Clark and Chloe, despite the fact a lot of them featured her being kidnapped or stalked. Supergirl was the best sort of audience, attentive, reactive, and she laughed at all the right moments. They both ended up in tears laughing over Clark’s worst excuses.

By the time Supergirl had to leave—there was a fire downtown—Lana felt confident saying Supergirl was her friend. She grinned as she watched her soar away to save the day. In her personal experience Supergirl was a much better hero than Superman ever was. Perhaps most importantly for Lana, she was relieved that there wasn’t the slightest bit of chemistry between them. She looked forward to having a platonic relationship with a Kryptonian, since her previous romantic one was such a disaster. Supergirl never needed to know to know about that, as the memories weren’t worth revisiting. However, if it did come up, well, at least Lana had some hilarious stories to tell.


End file.
